Misconceptions

Pro-life, I thought, meant being pro all life. Not just the unborn. No matter what. Neither of the candidates are that. However, a democrat is more likely to fund a system to help out teenagers and college students to make other options besides abortion attractive. Honestly, isn’t that the way you want to go? Not force women to not do something, but make it something that’s less desirable than any other option? Last time I checked, there were a lot of abortions before it was legal.

There are several misconceptions embedded in these statements and others in this post. The author seems unaware of how forceful and deceptive Planned Parenthood can be. They don’t see abortion as even slightly wrong, so they don’t hesitate to council women to abort as the first and best option. They’re not above coercion, either.

The Democratic Party has basically marginalized and ostracized pro-lifers within its ranks and is a mouthpiece for groups like Planned Parenthood and NARAL. While I deplore the death penalty and am basically anti-war, I cannot equate either with abortion. Far more children have been murdered while I typed this than the number of criminals executed or war dead in my entire lifetime (barring a nuclear holocaust). Also, the teenagers and college students the author worries about aren’t necessarily the ones procuring the most abortions. Roe v. Wade opened the floodgates for abortion on demand. The majority of abortions performed today are not for economic reason, rape or incest, or even health of the mother. Most are done for convenience. I don’t have the statistics, but I bet one of my readers does.

As for the number of abortions before it became legal, there are a heck of a lot more now. The statistics pro-choicers site about the number of back-alley abortions are widely regarded as works of fiction. Furthermore, laws are for honest people. If something is illegal, most people won’t do it. Some people will do what they want anyhow. Those people are the reason penalties exist in the law. We can’t stop them from acting, but we can certainly punish them.

I’ll end with a quick caveat. Longtime readers know, but newcomers may not know, that I am not a fan of Bush or the Republican Party. The preceding is only a rebuttal to the author’s particular statements.

Perhaps someone more knowledgeable than myself (Dawn Eden?) could help me out here. If some of you do decide to comment on this post, please be kind and considerate. Alektra is a nice, intelligent person and is helping her boyfriend through RCIA.

[The following is added by request of Alektra. – Funky]

Alektra has modified her post with the following clarification.

There are other means of help besides pro-choice Planned Parenthood. If you want to spend money to stop abortion, donate money to those institutions that are Pro-Life that help women and treat them with dignity.

That doesn’t quite address the point I was making. What I was implying is that people who vote for Bush based solely on life and family issues do so because the Democratic Party has sold its soul to pro-choice and pro-homosexuality lobby groups. They have drifted farther and farther left, and that bothers a lot of people.

I, for instance, was raised with a healthy distrust of the Republican Party. I think the sky might fall if my parents ever voted for a Republican. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve discovered that the Democratic Party I was raised to trust and rely upon to defend the values of middle America has gone off the deep end. They’re just as beholden to corporate interests as Republicans and they’ve abandoned traditional moral values. They’ve lost my vote. In fact, the whole two-party system has basically lost me. I change parties as it suits my needs during primaries and will be voting third-party in November.

Other people have switched allegiances because of life and family issues. Still others have always voted Republican and are beating the drums louder about the Democrats’ moral inconsistencies and inadequacies. The point is that, for many people, stopping abortion and protecting traditional marriage are the biggest issues of this election. For some of those people (not me), Bush is the man for the job.

To further complicate matters, many Catholics have a hard time justifying voting for a pro-choice, pro-homosexual marriage, pro-ESCR Catholic. Some bishops have gone so far as to say that voting for Kerry would be a sin. So, for EWTN to urge people to vote for Bush is based on his strong evangelical Christian faith and his opposition to abortion, homosexual marriage, and embryonic stem cell research.

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About Funky Dung

Who is Funky Dung? 29-year-old grad student in Intelligent Systems (A.I.) at the University of Pittsburgh. I consider myself to be politically moderate and independent and somewhere between a traditional and neo-traditional Catholic. I was raised Lutheran, spent a number of years as an agnostic, and joined the Catholic Church at the 2000 Easter Vigil. Why Funky Dung? I haven't been asked this question nearly as many times as you or I might expect. Funky Dung is a reference to an obscure Pink Floyd song. On the album Atom Heart Mother, there is a track called Atom Heart Mother Suite. It's broken up into movements, like a symphony, and one of the movements is called Funky Dung. I picked that nickname a long time ago (while I was still in high school I think), shortly after getting an internet connection for the first time. To me it means "cool/neat/groovy/spiffy stuff/crap/shiznit", as in "That's some cool stuff, dude!" Whence Ales Rarus? I used to enjoy making people guess what this means, but I've decided to relent and make it known to all. Ales Rarus is a Latin play on words. "Avis rarus" means "a rare bird" and carries similar meaning to "an odd fellow". "Ales" is another Latin word for bird that carries connotations of omens, signs of the times, and/or augery. If you want to get technical, both "avis" and "ales" are feminine (requiring "rara", but they can be made masculine in poetry (which tends to breaks lots of rules). I decided I'd rather have a masculine name in Latin. ;) Yeah, I'm a nerd. So what? :-P Wherefore blog? It is my intention to "teach in order to lead others to faith" by being always "on the lookout for occasions of announcing Christ by word, either to unbelievers . . . or to the faithful" through the "use of the communications media". I also act knowing that I "have the right and even at times a duty to manifest to the sacred pastors [my] opinion on matters which pertain to the good of the Church, and [I] have a right to make [my] opinion known to the other Christian faithful, with due regard to the integrity of faith and morals and reverence toward [my and their] pastors, and with consideration for the common good and the dignity of persons." (adapted from CCC 904-907) Statement of Faith I have been baptized and confirmed in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I, therefore, renounce Satan; I renounce all his works; I renounce all his allurements. I hold and profess all that is contained in the Apostles' Creed, the Niceno- Constantinopolitan Creed, and the Athanasian Creed. Having been buried with Christ unto death and raised up with him unto a new life, I promise to live no longer for myself or for that world which is the enemy of God but for him who died for me and rose again, serving God, my heavenly Father, faithfully and unto death in the holy Catholic Church. I am obedient to the Magisterium of the Catholic Church. That is, I promote and defend authentic Catholic Teaching and Faith in union with Christ and His Church and in union with the Holy Father, the Bishop of Rome, the Successor of St. Peter. Thanks be unto Thee, O my God, for all Thy infinite goodness, and, especially, for the love Thou hast shown unto me at my Confirmation. I Give Thee thanks that Thou didst then send down Thy Holy Spirit unto my soul with all His gifts and graces. May He take full possession of me for ever. May His divine unction cause my face to shine. May His heavenly wisdom reign in my heart. May His understanding enlighten my darkness. May His counsel guide me. May His knowledge instruct me. May His piety make me fervent. May His divine fear keep me from all evil. Drive from my soul, O Lord, all that may defile it. Give me grace to be Thy faithful soldier, that having fought the good fight of faith, I may be brought to the crown of everlasting life, through the merits of Thy dearly beloved Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen. Behind the Curtain: an Interview With Funky Dung (Thursday, March 03, 2005) I try to avoid most memes that make their way 'round the blogosphere (We really do need a better name, don't we?), but some are worth participating in. Take for instance the "interview game" that's the talk o' the 'sphere. I think it's a great way to get to know the people in neighborhood. Who are the people in your neighborhood? In your neighborhod? In your neigh-bor-hoo-ood...*smack* Sorry, Sesame Street flashback. Anyhow, I saw Jeff "Curt Jester" Miller's answers and figured since he's a regular reader of mine he'd be a good interviewer. Without further ado, here are my answers to his questions. 1. Being that your pseudonym Funky Dung was chosen from a Pink Floyd track on Atom Heart Mother, what is you favorite Pink Floyd song and why? Wow. That's a tuffy. It's hard to pick out a single favorite. Pink Floyd isn't really a band known for singles. They mostly did album rock and my appreciation of them is mostly of a gestalt nature. If I had to pick one, though, it'd be "Comfortably Numb". I get chills up my spine every time I hear it and if it's been long enough since the last time, I get midty-eyed. I really don't know why. That's a rather unsatisfying answer for an interview, so here are the lyrics to a Rush song. It's not their best piece of music, but the lyrics describe me pretty well.

New World Man He's a rebel and a runner He's a signal turning green He's a restless young romantic Wants to run the big machine He's got a problem with his poisons But you know he'll find a cure He's cleaning up his systems To keep his nature pure Learning to match the beat of the old world man Learning to catch the heat of the third world man He's got to make his own mistakes And learn to mend the mess he makes He's old enough to know what's right But young enough not to choose it He's noble enough to win the world But weak enough to lose it --- He's a new world man... He's a radio receiver Tuned to factories and farms He's a writer and arranger And a young boy bearing arms He's got a problem with his power With weapons on patrol He's got to walk a fine line And keep his self-control Trying to save the day for the old world man Trying to pave the way for the third world man He's not concerned with yesterday He knows constant change is here today He's noble enough to know what's right But weak enough not to choose it He's wise enough to win the world But fool enough to lose it --- He's a new world man...
2. What do you consider your most important turning point from agnosticism to the Catholic Church. At some point in '99, I started attending RCIA at the Pittsburgh Oratory. I mostly went to ask a lot of obnoxious Protestant questions. Or at least that's what I told myself. I think deep down I wanted desperately to have faith again. At that point I think I'd decided that if any variety of Christianity had the Truth, the Catholic Church did. Protestantism's wholesale rejection of 1500 years of tradition didn't sit well with me, even as a former Lutheran. During class one week, Sister Bernadette Young (who runs the program) passed out thin booklet called "Handbook for Today's Catholic". One paragraph in that book spoke to me and I nearly cried as I read it.
"A person who is seeking deeper insight into reality may sometimes have doubts, even about God himself. Such doubts do not necessarily indicate lack of faith. They may be just the opposite - a sign of growing faith. Faith is alive and dynamic. It seeks, through grace, to penetrate into the very mystery of God. If a particular doctrine of faith no longer 'makes sense' to a person, the person should go right on seeking. To know what a doctrine says is one thing. To gain insight into its meaning through the gift of understanding is something else. When in doubt, 'Seek and you will find.' The person who seeks y reading, discussing, thinking, or praying eventually sees the light. The person who talks to God even when God is 'not there' is alive with faith."
At the end of class I told Sr. Bernadette that I wanted to enter the Church at the next Easter vigil. 3. If you were a tree what kind of, oh sorry about that .. what is the PODest thing you have ever done? I set up WikiIndex, a clearinghouse for reviews of theological books, good, bad, and ugly. It has a long way to go, but it'll be cool when it's finished. :) 4. What is your favorite quote from Venerable John Henry Newman? "Ten thousand difficulties do not make one doubt." 5. If you could ban one hymn from existence, what would it be? That's a tough one. As a member of the Society for a Moratorium on the Music of Marty Haugen and David Haas, there are obviously a lot of songs that grate on my nerves. If I had to pick one, though, I'd probably pick "Sing of the Lord's Goodness" by Ernie Sands.

5 thoughts on “Misconceptions

  1. alektra

    As the author of that statement? I wasn’t just talking about systems like Planned Parenthood. There are systems that are specifically Pro-Life in America, some of them Catholic. Please refrain from judging my statements and tracing back to them before you know the facts of the matter on what I’m saying. If I’m vague, I’ll be more than happy to clarify! 🙂

  2. steve

    It is important to remember that striking down Roe will not force the genie back in the bottle–it will simply return the question of abortion to the 50 various state legislatures. Non-theraputic abortion will almost surely remain legal in nearly every state (maybe not Utah). But at least it will put the issue back in the political arena and out of the hands of judicial legislators…

    If I vote for GWB, the ONLY reason is the likelihood that he’s “stubborn” enough (especially in a lame duck 2nd term) to nominate an anti-Roe SC justice or two.

    I agree with Funky that these related seamless thread of life issues, though relevant, just don’t rise to the same level of repugnancy as abortion to (in the words of Creed) “make ends meet”.

    Peace & Kindness

  3. alektra

    It’s ok! I like to know when I’m not clear. Could you please edit your post to note people to look to these comments or a retraction of some sort? I just don’t want people seeing the link and whatnot.

    Thanks very much! See you Tuesday.

  4. alektra

    Thank you! I really like the post and hearing your point of view.

    I wasn’t saying be Democratic, but that Bush would be also bad, that morally, it’s wrong. It’s hard to want to do the right thing when I am afraid of one candidate and don’t agree with the other. And if I vote for neither? Either one wins anyway.

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